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International News

Despite shift, energy giants fall short of U.N. climate goals: study

No company was set to meet the United Nations-backed Paris Agreement’s long-term goal of limiting global warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by reducing carbon emissions to net zero,

“Some (companies) might have made bigger statements so far than the others and the important thing is the direction of travel. But none of them are making net zero yet,” Bill Hartnett, stewardship director of ESG Investment at Aberdeen Standard Investments, a TPI member. told Reuters.

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U.S. FDA safety guidelines likely to push COVID-19 vaccine authorization past election

The White House could still force authorization of a vaccine without that additional safety data. Doing so would put it in open disagreement with the FDA and its career scientists, and add to the perception that politics was playing a role in pushing out a vaccine.

If the agency follows its own guidelines, it is unlikely to authorize a vaccine before sometime in late November. It wants two months of data from half of a trial’s volunteers.

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Airlines warn of more bankruptcies as wage support ends

Airlines consumed $51 billion in cash in the second quarter as the pandemic brought global travel to a near-standstill, the industry body said.
Whereas the withdrawal of subsidies makes sense for sectors in recovery, IATA warned of further airline bankruptcies in the northern hemisphere winter as the collapse in revenue continues to dwarf cost savings. The average carrier now has cash for 8.5 months of operations, Brian Pearce, chief economist at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), told reporters

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SCOR to strengthen regional focus,carves out “APAC Emerging Market’ to be headed by India’s Mukul K

“This has led us to create a new position of P&C Regional Head – of EMEA and the Americas respectively – on top of our existing APAC organization, and to re-organize the reinsurance teams into four different regions with more homogenous client needs, i.e. Europe, North America, APAC Mature markets, and Fast-Growth markets.” said  SCOR Global P&C CEO Jean-Paul Conoscente ,

APAC Emerging Markets,that excludes SCOR’s operations in  Japan, South Korea & ANZ, will be led by Mukul Kishore, who continues as the CEO of SCOR’s India branch operations

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One in 10 may have caught COVID, as world heads into ‘difficult period’: WHO

“Our current best estimates tell us about 10% of the global population may have been infected by this virus. It varies depending on country, it varies from urban to rural, it varies depending on groups. But what it does mean is that the vast majority of the world remains at risk,” Ryan said. “We are now heading into a difficult period. The disease continues to spread.”

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India and South Africa ask WTO to waive rules to aid COVID-19 drug production

In their letter dated Oct. 2 the two countries called on the global trade body to waive parts of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which governs patents, trademarks, copyright and other intellectual property rules globally.“As new diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for COVID-19 are developed, there are significant concerns (over) how these will be made available promptly, in sufficient quantities and at (an) affordable price to meet global demand,” the letter posted on the Geneva-based WTO’s website says.

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Global stocks rise as signs of Trump’s improving health calm markets

Doctors treating Trump say they are pleased with his progress. Relief about his health could fuel a rally in equities and other risky assets as investors prepare for the run-up to next month’s U.S. presidential election.

Investors around the world were stunned late Thursday after Trump announced that he and the first lady had tested positive for coronavirus.

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